So I'm new to simplefit, on week 2 right now, but I guess it is about time I start logging in my times and notes and whatnot and not just scribbling them on paper. I am pretty light and skinny, but last few years definitely fell out of shape without much strength or cardiovascular capacity. I hope this will to be a good starting point to get into generally better shape, actually get some visible muscle and maybe try something like crossfit down the line or get motivated to get back into climbing.

M, 63kg [~140lb], 6'1

W1-
L1D1 - Whiffed on this day and so decided to officially start on D2 of the schedule.
L1D2 - ~5:20/5:30, wasn't really paying too much attention to how long I rested each time, all under 3 mins but not quite sure what the total workout time was, so just subtracted my best guess for rests from the total time.
L1D3 - 8:07 ...I can tell push ups are going to be the hardest thing to beat so far. Went through the 10 pullups straight but after 10 push ups had to do them in sets of 2 with some pretty bad form.

Doing MWF, so Saturday tried to get out and do some running. I didn't have a good portable stopwatch or even watch for that matter and didn't want to hold my phone the whole time so don't know my times, but went out and did 2 km then another .5 k with intervals of sprinting, jogging. Really felt that one the next day.

W2 -
L1D1 - 25 rounds
Run: Again no timekeeping but did about 3k but at a bit slower pace than before.
L1D2 - 4:25...kinda felt like cheating though because I made sure to wait the full three minutes for each rest which made it feel like less of a workout, so I guess I doubt I really knocked off around a minute.

Excited for D3 to see how the push ups go...might consider bumping up to level 2 next week if I can improve my D3 significantly! Pretty inspiring to see the commitment and change from a lot of the members posting on the forums!

Also any advice about running schedules or plans would be awesome.

I've never done any consistent running so am shooting in the dark. I was thinking alternate with simple fit days, one day distance, one day interval sprints/jobs and one day time for a shorter distance.

Welcome! This is a great way to start your fitness journey... hope it works out for you!

At least in the first few levels, you will definitely gain some strength and some muscle in addition to some endurance... so its a perfect start for if you want to get back into climbing (i used to climb too!).

You should note however, that if you do simplefit, eat according to the nutrition advice here AND go running, you will lose weight very very quickly. I know you mentioned that you are/were skinny, so I just want to make sure you understand what will happen to your body. If you want to 'gain muscle' b/c you are skinny, you may want to eat a lot more calories and also in the later stages of simplefit, start modifying your workouts. But we can cross that bridge when you get there

I definitely would like to gain some mass, and I am vegetarian as well, so I am expecting an uphill battle. Going to start taking some protein shakes just to bump up daily protein intake to the 1.2-1.5g/lean lb recommendation I've been seeing, because getting 160+ gram protein a day vegetarian is pretty difficult. Other than that I am trying to follow nutrition recommendations here, try and replace some of the carbs with more veggies etc.

In terms of calories would you have any suggestions?
I was thinking about aiming for a new goal of 2400-2500 a day, but honestly don't really know anything about it in regards to muscle mass as opposed to just putting on fat.

W3 L2D1 - 20 rounds, almost made 21 but was just starting the squats when buzzer hit. Still need to work on the pushups, after 9-10 rounds cannot really do consecutive pushups anymore, but I think my form is improving.

Also added knee tucks 1x10 and short bridges 1x10 afterwords. Bridges difficult, don't have much convex flexibility, tucks good but really knock your breath out. Hopefully will increase to two sets for D2.

I definitely would like to gain some mass, and I am vegetarian as well, so I am expecting an uphill battle. Going to start taking some protein shakes just to bump up daily protein intake to the 1.2-1.5g/lean lb recommendation I've been seeing, because getting 160+ gram protein a day vegetarian is pretty difficult. Other than that I am trying to follow nutrition recommendations here, try and replace some of the carbs with more veggies etc.

In terms of calories would you have any suggestions?
I was thinking about aiming for a new goal of 2400-2500 a day, but honestly don't really know anything about it in regards to muscle mass as opposed to just putting on fat.

Thanks again for the advice!

In terms of calories, I would use an online BMI calculator to figure out your base maintenance level and go from there. Although im not an expert, if you want to build muscle quickly, you do need to eat in excess of your maintenance level. Just be sure to eat clean and lots of protein (however you can!).

I do think simplefit is a great beginning, no matter what... esp if you have trouble w/ push-ups/pull-ups etc. However, once you can do them relatively proficiently, if you want to build muscle, I think you may need to move into something with more weight and less reps (bodyweight or w/ regular weights). I would take a look at the FAQ at www.reddit.com/r/fitness... there is some solid information there.

Well was traveling and managed to get sick (go figure) so missed out on a few days. Today was the first day feeling good enough to give it a go again...and decided to just stick with L2 instead of taking a break for the 4th week because I missed about a week already.

W3 L2D3: missed
W4 L2D1: missed
W4 L2D2: 5:07 Slight improvement, don't know if it really counts. I also really noticed how important correct form is, especially with pushups. I need to work on better form.

Post-SF: 4x10 knee tucks, 2x10 short bridges, 2x30 sec planks

Will start running again tomorrow, hopefully 3km, though it is much cooler out so maybe I can do a bit more.

W4 L2D3: 5:56 Pull-ups: 9,2,1,1 Push-ups: 10,5,5,3,2,1 Really ran out of steam on both of those towards the end. Might starting doing the "every time you walk by do 1 or 2" routine and see if that can contribute + help on form.

Great times! You are off to a great start. If you aren't running out of steam by the end of each D3 exercise, you aren't pushing hard enough. Being able to do 9 pull-ups in a single set is an indicator you'll be moving up pretty soon.

Thanks KTG! Excited to see if I can head up to L3 in another week or two! When I first started SF I was hoping to try to continually do all the pull ups in D3 in one set as I move up, but seeing my progress and seeing other people's progress, that looks impossible.

W5 L2D3 - 4:13 (Pull-ups 7,6....it felt easier distributing it this way, not sure if better to do fewer but larger sets or go from most in the beginning.) (Push ups - 10,5,5,3,1,1,1 - Though faster, still felt really tough...would like to be able to finish stronger)